Many creative industries and individuals within those industries generate graphic works in the course of their work. For example, photographers, artists, architects, designers, graphic artists, web page designers, and the like all generate graphic works. By the term ‘graphic work’ is included any and all works which have a visual component, including photographs, drawings, paintings, sculptures, logos, plans, images, animations, films, and the like. In order to protect the creator's or owner's investment in these works, the-concept of copyright has evolved. However, copyright only allows an owner to enforce their rights in the work once an unauthorised use of the work has been identified. Copyright is generally the property of the creator of the work, unless and until the copyright is assigned. Rights in the copyright of the work may be assigned separately from the work itself. Although systems exist for marking images to denote ownership of rights, there are currently no systems in place for systematically identifying potentially infringing copies of copyright works, which is thus generally left to chance. The existence of copyright licensing or collection agencies may go some way toward addressing these issues, but the operations of such agencies cannot be regarded as systematic. This means that an owner may be unaware of unauthorised use of their copyright works, and hence unable to take action. Both copyright owners' income and professional reputation may suffer as a result. In addition, although third parties may be licensed to use a particular work for a certain period, it may be difficult to ensure that their use is in accordance with the terms of the licence, and ceases when the licence expires.
The problem of unauthorised use of copyright works has mushroomed dramatically in recent years with increased use of the internet and other computer networks. Once an image is posted on a web site, there is little to prevent third parties from copying the image for their own use, despite the fact that this is generally prohibited by copyright. Preventing or even identifying such unauthorised uses can be practically impossible. Digital photography, too, means that a photograph, once created, may be copied many times without any loss of quality and without requiring access to the original work. The problem of preventing a twentieth-generation copy of a work being posted on an obscure corner of the internet is practically insurmountable with present methods. Digital ‘watermarks’ or pixel embedding may be used, that is patterns embedded into the digital file, but these will adversely affect image quality and so will not be suitable for many applications where high-quality images are required. The use of such techniques may also interfere with the visual appreciation of the image, which is undesirable when the image is an artistic work. Further, the use of watermarks can only affect a particular copy of an image, and not the rights in the image itself. It may also be possible for skilled persons to remove digital watermarks or embedded pixels incorporated in some images, so circumventing the protection afforded thereby.
Furthermore, in many jurisdictions there is also no method of registering ownership of a copyright work. Thus, when an owner does discover an infringement, it is then still necessary to demonstrate ownership and the date of creation of the work. While many people are aware of this, and keep careful records accordingly, in a large number of cases it is not possible to demonstrate ownership or creation, particularly if some time has passed since the creation of the work, or where the ownership of the work has been transferred a number of times and the original creator can no longer be found. In some cases, ownership may be demonstrated simply through first publication, which may not accord with the legal owner of copyright. Some professional bodies do recommend registration of copyright works where possible, but again it may be difficult to monitor and police subsequent use of the work. This can also assume importance where the images are digital, since increasingly there will be no physical ‘original’ work to register.
This feature of monitoring ownership of a work and of transfers of title or licensing also assumes importance in those jurisdictions which offer a ‘resale right’ to the creator—that is, a right to the creator of a work to benefit financially when the work is subsequently sold or licensed to others. For example, the European Union have recently adopted a Directive to provide for such a right in the case of works of art, which a number of European states already do as a matter of course. In order for such a right to be effective, it is necessary to be able to monitor transfers of works together with maintaining records as to the creator of the work.
In addition to the problem of monitoring uses of their work, many creators and in particular independent creators such as freelance photographers and the like face some difficulty in making their works accessible to potential customers or users. Although wishing to avoid unlicensed use, most creators would be happy for third parties to be able to access their portfolio and to purchase licences to use works freely. Independent creators can face problems in making their works accessible to large potential audiences, and in dealing with the legal aspects which arise from licensing deals.
The foregoing problems also apply to rights other than copyright per se—for example, related rights such as publication rights, performance rights, and the like. In fact, the owner of essentially any rights may wish to register ownership and monitor unauthorised uses.
It is among the objects of embodiments of the present invention to obviate or to alleviate these and other difficulties in the prior art. This is achieved in certain embodiments of the invention by the provision of a method whereby a rights owner can register a work, and monitor occurrences of that work on the internet and elsewhere. Further aspects of the invention provide for portfolio management and licensing of users; this may be in combination with or separate from the monitoring aspect of the invention.